Trip to DC and a new campaign manager for Steve Sarvi

Steve Sarvi was out in Washington DC over the weekend to meet folks, do some interviews and fundraise. Rep. Jim Oberstar, in particular, held a fundraiser for him with his A list supporters. With Oberstar and Sen. Amy Klobuchar helping him, he'll hopefully raise the money he needs to take down John Kline in the MN-02 race. He met with the DCCC, Teamsters and the League of Conservation Voters as well as a slew of interviews.

He returns home with the news that he's hiring a new campaign manager, Brad Foster.

Foster has a record of winning campaigns and raising the money to win campaigns. He most recently managed Harry Teague’s campaign to a primary victory in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District – a $1.3 million race in a district the size of Pennsylvania. Prior to that, Foster’s campaign experience included managing the 2004 campaign of Rep. Vic Snyder in Little Rock, Ark., a Democrat who won 58 percent of the vote in a district carried by President Bush.
Foster’s résumé also includes a significant amount of fundraising success for candidates and political organizations. On the Snyder race, Foster’s efforts led to a 60 percent increase in income from individual contributors over Snyder’s previous campaign. Prior to the Snyder campaign, Foster was finance director for the Arkansas Coordinated Campaign and State Democratic Party, where he increased donations to state party programs by 20 percent and worked with stakeholders to raise a campaign budget of more than $3 million.
(8/5/08 press release)

The combination of getting some heavy hitters fundraising for him as well as a campaign manager with a history of raising fat cash and winning is great news for those of you who'd like to see John Kline back in the private sector.

The campaign also thanked Eileen Weber for her hard work on Steve's behalf:

“For nine months, Eileen Weber steered us on a course for success, seeing us through many critical phases of this campaign. We thank her for her incredible dedication and wish her well as she deals with some health challenges,” said Bridget Cusick, spokesperson for the Sarvi campaign. “At the same time, we are very excited to bring Brad Foster aboard. He has exactly the right record and experience to lead the Sarvi team to victory, ensuring voters hear Steve Sarvi’s positive message of change for Minnesota.”
(8/5/08 press release)

Sen. Klobuchar took MN-02 by 10%. The legislative delegation to the State Capitol has been swinging swiftly to blue. Kline is unpopular -- only 39% approve of his job while 44% have a fair/poor rating of his job performance. Kline and his staff are often rude and they will only meet with the public under carefully scripted circumstances to avoid any dissenting voices.

This seat it winnable and Foster is the perfect kind of campaign manager to lead the way. I look forward to meeting Mr. Foster.